Conscious Empathy

“Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.”

Sydney J. Harris

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𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗯? 💡

Just one – but, the lightbulb has to be willing to change.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁? Because from our earliest experiences and the forming of our individual histories, we develop a personal response to the concept of change. 

Some people love change and seek out new experiences without fear. Others, perhaps due to a parent’s military career, had to move a great deal in their youth and prefer an adulthood of stability.

Many of us explore change with cautious optimism; we need lots of information to process and understand it with time to learn and implement. 

We don’t want to make the wrong choice or suffer the consequences if we do. We are afraid of making mistakes and fear the outcomes.

In the workplace, we don’t always get information or even advance warning.

Changes are often delivered in sudden ways without an opportunity to mentally or emotionally adjust. Resistance to change is a neuroscientific function of self-preservation and survival instinct.

In the search for stability, our brains seek to protect us from threats before being open to new ideas. Whatever personality trait or reaction we have developed over our life’s experience to change, most of us had never lived with as much uncertainty and instability as we have over these past three years.

Personally, collectively, and in the workplace – most of us are experiencing burnout, indecision, or a wearing down of our defenses.

While humans need time to adapt, as well as recover, many of us wish the merry-go-round would stop so we can get off. We are living with inflation, health issues, war, trauma, grief, job loss, global economics and supply chain issues.

There are no wrong answers. Each of us is wired differently and have personal experiences that shape our responses. In trying to feel safe, everyone has to determine what that looks and sounds like. Collectively, we need a balance so that we don’t jump too fast or stagnate.

How do you react to change? Has your attitude or mindset altered over the past three years? If so, what is your current feeling about it?